1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the maintaining of live bait for use in sport fishing and the like, and more specifically to a live bait container where the principle or large capacity bait storage is separated from a small bait storage area for immediate use to prevent undesirable contact with the large quantity of stored bait to extend bait life and maintain the bait in a natural appearing condition as long as possible.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Aerated live bait tanks are well known for maintaining bait in a live condition for sport and commercial fishing. The following U.S. Patents are directed to such known devices:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,767,509, D. E. Breithaupt, Oct. 23, 1956 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,509,657, O. C. Bross, Jr., May 5, 1970 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,462, Charles Ray Coyl, Apr. 2, 1974 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,349, James A. Key, July 26, 1977 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,785, Robert G. Lambourn, July 7, 1987
Generally stated it can be said that these prior art live bait container all have at least one undesirable feature, namely, all of the bait supply is subject to damage any time bait is desired and removed from the container regardless of how many of the bait is needed and removed at any given time. For example, if a hundred or more individual live bait are contained in the container each time the fisherman requires an individual live bait the fisherman must reach into the container with a scoop or net to remove the needed bait. The retrieving means whether a scoop or net brushes against many of the bait in the container causing some damage to these contracted however so slight. Continual contact with the bait not yet ready to be used by the fisherman causes injury or death which renders them useless for their intended purpose. It should be understood that when the fisherman desires only one of the bait the scoop or net will generally capture more than just one resulting in the excess being dumped back into the container for latter use. This action causes severe damage to the bait even greater than the contact and non-removal of the bait by the scoop or net.
There has not been a suitable live bait container to extend the usable life of contained live bait until the emergence of the instant invention.